LOVE IS A CALLING

 A 21 day Prayer and Fasting Devotional (Nov. 1-21, 2023)

Day 3  -  LOVE IS A CALLING

by: Josh Morris

That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

John 17:21 NKJV

There’s no question that we as believers are called to love the world and show them what the love of Christ looks like. And that certainly helps to remedy this fragile love that exists all around us. But there is one prayer—and only one—Jesus prayed that we can answer. In John 17:20–23, Jesus prayed that all of us as believers would be one with each other just as He is one with the Father. In fact, He says that when we foster this type of unity among our fellow believers, it stands as the testimony that Jesus is God and was sent by the Father.

This is a heavy calling and one we ought to take much more seriously. The fastest and most effective way of destroying a movement or a group of people is to get them to fight internally so they rot from the inside. Then, by the time you attack them, there is no unity to strengthen them against the onslaught. This is what the Church has done in recent years as we have divided ourselves into more and more subcategories of belief. Now, we often distinguish ourselves not in the ways we are different from the secular world but instead in the ways we are different from each other. Unity is severely lacking in the Church, and because of this, we are not faithfully answering the prayer Jesus prayed for us.

As I watched our friends care for their family and find ways to express their love no matter the temporal disagreement, I realized they were standing as a true testimony to me of what the love of Christ looks like. They are a group of people who loves well and keeps family as a priority over all else. Maybe we as the Church could learn from their example in this day and age. Maybe we could start seeing believers as fellow family members and servants of the true king. Just maybe, if we can get there, we can start answering the prayer that Jesus prayed over us. This will be the sign to unbelievers and the thing that sets us apart from the world. It’s a thing called love, and we are called to be ministers of love so that everyone will know just how strong the love of Christ really is. It overcomes all things. Today, let’s choose to and show the world who God is.

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Prayer

Lord, we ask that You would give us the strength to love our family of believers even when it does not come naturally. Let us resist the worldly temptation to continue to divide, and instead give us the ministry of reconciliation. May we answer Your cry for unity here on earth just as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Activation

• What friends, family members, or public figures do you look to as examples of God’s love? What specific words or actions draw you to them?
• How can you approach potentially difficult topics with love?

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For Further Study

1 Corinthians 13Colossians 3:14John 17:22–261 John 4:7–21

Prepared and edited by:

Armando P. Mariano

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